Shucked at PTC

I didn't really know much about Shucked, other than it is a Broadway try-out for a new and original musical here in SLC, but everyone has been giving it rave reviews so I knew I had to see it! I had the chance last night at PTC and I loved it! Two Storytellers (Ashley D. Kelley and Taylor Trensch) introduce us to the small town of Cobb County where the tall stalks of corn, which provide the main source of income, keep people in and keep people out. This is exactly how the townspeople, including engaged couple Beau (Andrew Durand) and Maizy (Caroline Innerbichler), Beau's brother Peanut (Kevin Cahoon), and Maizy's cousin Lulu (Alex Newell), like it until the corn crop starts to fail. Maizy decides, against the objections of Beau, that she should go out into the world to get help and ends up in the big city of Tampa where she meets a conman named Gordy (performed last night by the understudy Quinn VanAntwerp). He is not very good at being bad but he is able to convince the naive Maizy that he is a corn doctor so she brings him home to the consternation of the townspeople, especially Beau who sees him as a rival. Hilarity ensues! Many of the jokes are very "corny" but they definitely land because I don't think I stopped laughing during the entire show (and neither did the audience). Much of the comedy comes from the Storytellers, who are not only the narrators for all of the goings-on but they also periodically become supporting characters (sometimes two characters at the same time). Trensch, especially, is absolutely hilarious with perfect comedic timing and over-the-top facial expressions. Cahoon is also the source of much laughter as Peanut frequently regales us with his deep thoughts. The original songs by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally are a lot of fun and are really catchy. I especially loved the song "Walls" because it is about finding the courage to leave your comfort zone and I think it could stand alone like most of the great songs from Broadway do. Innerbichler, who recently made an appearance in Utah as Anna in the Broadway touring production of Frozen, sings it with so much emotion! The songs "Somebody Will" performed by Durand and "Independently Owned" performed by Newell are absolute show-stoppers and both gave me goosebumps! The staging of this show is so clever because the cast is seated in a semi-circle inside of a crooked barn with corn stalks all around and featured performers use minimal props stashed in bushel baskets around the stage as well as wooden barrels during each number. Artistic Director Karen Azenberg mentioned that some changes had to be made to accommodate the last minute addition of VanAntwerp before the show began but I think that just involved the placement of music stands in front of the actors (VanAntwerp seemed to be the only cast member to have a score in front of him and he rarely used it).  I didn't really know what to expect with this show but I had so much fun watching it! I can't wait until it is a big hit on Broadway because I can say that I was one of the first to see it! There are only a few more performances left so act quickly so you don't miss out (go here for tickets).

Armageddon Time

My nephew really wanted to see Armageddon Time so I took him to see it last night.  I enjoyed this coming of age story about racism, guilt, and white privilege but the ambiguous ending kept it from being great (my nephew was even more disappointed with the ending than I was).  It is 1980 in Queens and it is the first day of school for Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), a young Jewish boy with middle class parents, Esther (Anne Hathaway) and Irving (Jeremy Strong), and immigrant grandparents, namely Aaron Rabinowitz (Anthony Hopkins), who all want a better life for him.  He befriends a Black student named Johnny (Jaylin Webb) and they both cause mischief in class but Paul notices that Johnny seems to be punished more severely.  After the two of them get caught smoking marijuana in the bathroom, Paul's parents decide to send him to an expensive prep school to get him away from Johnny.  Paul tries to fit in at his new school but he is dismayed by his classmates' comments about Black people and feels guilty for not defending his friend.  Eventually, the two of them get in trouble with the law but Paul is able to escape the consequences while Johnny is not even though Paul is to blame.  His father tells him that life is not fair and he should take advantage of the opportunity to learn from his mistake but he also remembers his grandfather's advice to always stand up to prejudice when he sees it.  The performances are amazing, especially Repeta and Hopkins (they have a scene together that is absolutely brilliant), the production design is very effective at evoking the time and place (my family had the exact same dishes in the 1980s) without a lot of the nostalgia attendant upon most movies that depict this era, and the story is very compelling.  Watching everything that happens to Johnny was incredibly emotional for me, especially sitting next to my nephew, and I was most invested in him as a character.  I was, therefore, disappointed in the ending because I feel like Johnny just disappears after having done his part to teach Paul a lesson about the injustices of the world.  I wanted Paul to learn a bigger lesson and finally, at long last, stand up for Johnny.  That may not be the story that James Gray is telling but I can't deny that I left the theater a bit deflated despite my overall enjoyment of the movie.

The Banshees of Inisherin

The second movie in my double feature last night was The Banshees of Inisherin and, while it is incredibly depressing, it is also diabolically funny and strangely profound!  I loved it!  On an island off the coast of Ireland in 1923, Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) and Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell) have been friends and drinking buddies for years, mostly due to proximity because they are so different.  One day, Colm suddenly decides that he no longer wants to be friends with Padraic and simply stops talking to him.  Padraic is understandably devastated and demands to know why.  Colm finally explains that he finds Padraic's company dull and that he wants to spend his time on more meaningful pursuits, such as his music, so that there will be something to remember him by.  However, Padraic refuses to accept the situation and, despite the best intentions of Padraic's sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) and the sheriff's son Dominic (Barry Keoghan), tensions escalate between them with unexpectedly violent and tragic consequences.  The goings-on descend into the absurd at times and there are some genuinely hilarious moments (I frequently laughed out loud) but this movie has some thought-provoking things to say about depression, isolation, loneliness, mortality, and the desire for a legacy and I think McDonagh strikes the perfect balance between the comedy and the tragedy.  The parallels to the civil war raging on the mainland are highly effective because the conflict between Colm and Padraic is, ultimately, just as futile with no winners.  I actually found both main characters to be incredibly sympathetic (How can Colm be so cruel?  Why can't Padraic just leave him alone?) and that is definitely what made this movie so compelling for me.  Both Farrell and Gleeson deliver incredible performances (Farrell won the Volpi Cup at Venice this year) and Condon and Keoghan (he steals every scene he is in) are also superb.  The cinematography is simply breathtaking and I loved the haunting score.  I think this movie is brilliant, definitely one of my favorites this year, and I highly recommend it.

Till

I missed out on seeing several movies that I had planned because I was sick last week so I decided on a double feature to make up for it last night.  Even though I knew it would be very difficult for me, I started with Till.  After her 14-year-old son Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) is brutally murdered for whistling at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett) while visiting his cousins in Mississippi, Mamie Till-Bradley (Danielle Deadwyler) turns her grief into activism.  She insists that Emmett have an open casket at his funeral so that the world can see what was done to him, she travels at great personal risk to testify against the men accused of Emmett's murder, and then devotes her life to the civil rights movement.  I was really worried about how Emmett's murder would be portrayed and I spent much of the first act steeling myself for what I knew was coming.  Thankfully, it is very sensitively done.  Emmett is shown being forcibly taken from his uncle's house and then there is a brief scene where his muted cries are heard from inside a barn but, instead of focusing on the murder, director Chinonye Chukwu focuses on Mamie's response and it is very powerful.  There were several scenes that brought me to tears, including when Mamie meets Emmett's casket at the train station and when she sees his body for the first time, and there were also several scenes that made me very angry, such as when a child fires a cap gun at Mamie on the courthouse steps and then laughs at her and when the verdict is announced.  Deadwyler gives a brilliant performance (she is getting a lot of well-deserved Oscar buzz), especially in the aforementioned scene at the train station and during her testimony, but I was also really impressed with Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Mamie's mother.  This is definitely a movie that is hard to watch but it such an important story that is, sadly, still very relevant today.  I highly recommend it.

Ballet West's Rodeo

Even though I usually prefer seeing full-length ballets, I was excited for Ballet West's latest production featuring Concerto Baracco, Return to a Strange Land, and Rodeo last night.  I really enjoyed the program, especially since my favorite dancer, Katlyn Addison, was featured in two of the ballets!  The first piece, Concerto Baracco, is a classical ballet with choreography by George Balanchine and music by Johann Sebastian Bach and it was my favorite of the evening.  Two female soloists, the aforementioned Addison and Emily Adams, interact with each other by coming together and pulling apart with a corps of eight female dancers who mimic their movements.  When a male soloist, Hadriel Diniz, joins them, it appears that he is dancing with with all of the women because of the intricate patterns they form around him.  The vivid cerulean blue backdrop and the flowing white costumes add to the beauty of the performance and I loved it!  Next came Return to a Strange Land which is a more modern piece with choreography by Jirí Kylián and music by Leoš Janáček.  The solo piano music is haunting and, instead of telling a story, the ballet evokes a feeling of loss.  Two groups of three dancers are featured, including Amy Potter with Hadriel Diniz and Brian Waldrep, and Addison with Tyler Gum and Robert Fowler, and the choreography is incredibly innovative with shapes and silhouettes that I had never seen before.  The moody atmosphere is enhanced by the earth-toned leotards worn by the dancers and the autumn leaves flowing across the stage (fallen leaves always symbolize loss to me).  This was absolutely brilliant and it elicited thunderous applause from the audience.  The program concluded with Rodeo featuring choreography by Agnes de Mille and music by Aaron Copland.  A Cowgirl (Chelsea Keefer) wants to show the cowboys that she is just as skilled on a horse as they are but she also wants to catch the attention of the Head Wrangler (Brian Waldrep).  Unfortunately, he is more interested in the more feminine Rancher's Daughter (Victoria Vassos) but a Champion Roper (David Huffmire) notices her.  When she arrives at the hoe-down wearing a dress, she has both the Wrangler and the Roper vying for her affections.  The choreography is so much fun with movements that realistically mimic roping, riding, and square dancing  (it reminded me of the type of dancing you would see in a Broadway musical) while the music is instantly recognizable, especially during the hoe-down.  I was so impressed with Keefer because ballerinas are usually the epitome of grace and elegance but she appears awkward and uncoordinated!  The colored jeans worn by the cowboys, the calico dresses worn by the womenfolk, and the set of a large ranch house add authenticity to the story.  This was another big crowd-pleaser!  I think I will always prefer the full-length ballets but I am so glad that I got to see this triple-bill!  It continues at Capitol Theatre for three more performances including a matinee on Nov. 10 (go here for tickets).